Though I concentrate on collecting t.v. shows, there are those iconic movies that are a must-have. One of them is Blue Thunder. I've had a Beta tape of it for years but never graduated to laserdisc nor DVD. Well, when I was at Barnes & Noble last Saturday, I couldn't pass up the deal, Blue Thunder on Blu-ray for $12.99. Last night I popped the Blu-ray into the player and was transported back to the early 1980's. Roy Scheider was appropriately intense, Candy Clark was appealing, Daniel Stern was sweetly goofy, and Malcolm McDowell was subtly over-the-top evil. Except for some rear-projection shots behind the actors when in the helicopters, the rest of the action footage was filmed live (or so it seemed). It was great to see Scheider or Stern or McDowell actually flying in the helicopter cockpit. Back in the day, I remember Johnny Carson interviewing McDowell, asking him how he got such a serious look on his face as the copter he was in did all those aerobatic maneuvers. McDowell responded that it was due to air-sickness! No computer-generated models used for the helicopters! Only real copters or RC miniatures flying through downtown Los Angeles and through the San Fernando Valley. Such veracity only enhanced the Blue Thunder movie experience!

Now I need Airwolf, the movie! Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://videocam.net.au/fcug

After watching the extras on the Blue Thunder Blu-ray, I noted that director John Badham talked about Airwolf being a rip-off of his movie and that Blue Thunder the t.v. show was a rip-off of his movie, too.